With these words given to the Native Peoples by The Creator, life went on for many years until greed overwhelmed the Cherokee Nation. It came from without and from within the Tribe. Ultimately ending in one of our nations darkest moments, The Trail of Tears, where over 4,000 Cherokees died from incarceration in
illegal prison stockades and on the terrible walk from these barbaric conditions.
There were two court cases that determined the fate of the Cherokee Nation. The first Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) was an injunction to restrain the State of Georgia when a bill was introduced in 1802 to abolish the Cherokee laws, parcel out their lands, take possession of their gold, and calling out the militia of Georgia to enforce the laws of the State of Georgia. During this time John Ross was pronounced the principal Chief and executive head of the Cherokee Nation. There were numerous Acts passed by the Georgia Legislature, including the call for a Removal Policy to Western Lands. The motion for the injunction was denied. The second case
Worcester v. Georgia (1832) reversed the previous court case; however, President Andrew Jackson supposedly said, "Let them try and enforce it."
When Chief John Ross went to President Andrew Jackson to try to get him to intervene, since the Cherokees had saved Jackson's life once. He hypocritically told them "You shall remain in your ancient land as long as grass grows and water runs."
Thus began the "Nunna dual Tsuny" which translates to "Trail Where They Cried". The flowers that you see are called "Cherokee Roses". The mothers of the Cherokee grieved so much that the chiefs prayed for a sign to lift the mother's spirits and give them strength to care for their children. From that day forward, a beautiful new flower, a rose, grew wherever a mother's tear fell to the ground. The rose is white, for the mother's tears.
It has a gold center, for the gold taken from the Cherokee lands, and seven leaves on each stem that represent the seven Cherokee clans that made the journey. To this day, the Cherokee Rose prospers along the route of the "Trail of Tears". The Cherokee Rose is now the official flower of the State of Georgia.
This hardly begins to tell the story, so I have gathered some very good links to help the reader understand and to further their knowledge of this period in time.
100 Years of Westward Expansion and Native Genocide
Major Ridge--Leader of the other faction
Andrew Jackson: Indian Removal Policy (an index)
Private John G. Burnett's Story
Map
of the Trail of Tears
National
Historic Trail
Finding Your Cherokee Ancestors
Sequoyah-developed the Cherokee Alphabet
The Cherokee Alphabet and Pronunciation Guide
bravenet.com